Merson: Eric Dier Gelandang Bertahan Terbaik Inggris

Legenda Arsenal, Paul Merson melemparkan pujian kepada gelandang muda Tottenham HotspurMerson: Eric Dier Gelandang Bertahan Terbaik Inggris, Eric Dier. Merson menyebut bahwa dengan kemampuannya saat ini, Dier merupakan gelandang bertahan terbaik yang dimiliki Inggris.

Gelandang berusia 22 tahun tersebut merupakan salah satu pemain yang diorbitkan oleh pelatih Mauricio Pochettino saat ia ditunjuk menjadi manajer Spurs musim lalu. Dier secara perlahan tapi pasti bertransformasi menjadi kepercayaan Pochettino, di mana musim ini ia hanya absen satu kali membela The Lilly Whites sepanjang musim ini.

Ketika diminta memberi prediksi pemain yang akan dibawa Hodgson ke Prancis pada bulan Juni nanti, Merson tidak ragu menyebut bahwa Dier akan menjadi salah satu andalan Hodgson di Euro 2016. "Mungkin pendapat saya ini akan mengejutkan banyak orang, tetapi bagi saya Eric Dier adalah gelandang bertahan terbaik yang dimiliki Inggris saat ini" ungkap Merson kepada Sky Sports.

"Dia adalah pemain yang disiplin dan ia melakukan umpan-umpan pendek yang baik. Ketika ia memenangkan bola, ia akan memberikannya kepada pemain lain dengan umpan berjarak 40 yard" puji Merson.

Dier sendiri masuk ke dalam skuat uji coba Timnas Inggris kontra Jerman dan Belanda pada jeda internasional kali ini.(sky/dub)

Mourinho: 'Don't compare me to Andre Villas-Boas"

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has said that he sees no similarities between himself and Andre Villas-Boas.

Despite both Portuguese coaches working for Porto at a young age and managing Chelsea in the Premier League, los Blancos boss believes that Villas-Boas's career does not have any resemblance to his own.



"I don't see anything of myself in Andre Villas-Boas," Mourinho told RTP1.



"He has accessed places others couldn't. I follow his career regularly. I know there is a Jose Mourinho effect in the young Portuguese.



"There is a lot of young people who dream about being a coach. Twenty years ago the youngsters wanted to be players, not coaches."



Mourinho looks set to leave Madrid in the summer after all but conceding La Liga to bitter arch-rivals Barcelona.

Bale sits out Wales training

Gareth Bale did not train with the Wales squad on Tuesday but he is expected to be fit to face Scotland in Friday's World Cup qualifier.

Having played 90 minutes for Tottenham on Sunday, Bale is following his own recovery programme before taking a full part in training with the squad.

West Ham United pair Jack Collison and James Collins are following similar recovery schedules.

Sunderland midfielder David Vaughan was also missing from Tuesday's session.

Vaughan, another to play 90 minutes on Sunday as Sunderland drew with Norwich City, is expected to join up with the squad at their base near Cardiff on Wednesday.



Bale needed treatment on an ankle knock during the first half of Spurs' match with Fulham on Sunday, but the 23-year-old was able to finish the match as his side lost 1-0 at home.

Wales have given no indication of any doubts over Bale's availability to face Scotland at Hampden Park on Friday, where Chris Coleman's side will be looking to build on recent encouraging performances.

"We think he is going to be fit, he is in and around the team and will be training in the next couple of days with Friday in mind," said striker Sam Vokes.

"It is fantastic to play alongside him, the last couple of goals I have scored for Wales have come from his assists, and in the Scotland game here he turned the game on its head.

"He has been different class for club and country for a while now, every game he plays in he is excellent and he will be a big player for us on Friday."

Wales secured their first win of the qualifying campaign in October as Bale scored twice, including a stunning winner a minute from time, to beat Scotland.

In their last outing, Bale was again the dominant force as he scored one and created the second for Vokes in a 2-1 friendly win over Austria in Swansea.

Sandwiched between those games was a 2-0 away defeat by Croatia, who Wales play again four days after facing Scotland.

Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen (shoulder) and Leeds United striker Steve Morison (calf) are the only players to have pulled out of Coleman's original squad for the qualifying double-header.

Striker Jermaine Easter, on loan at Millwall from Crystal Palace, and Bristol City defender Lewin Nyatanga have been drafted in as cover.

English trio are kept apart

The three Premier League clubs have been kept apart in the Europa League quarter-final draw.

Chelsea will take on Russian side Rubin Kazan, Tottenham tackle Swiss outfit Basel and Newcastle will face Portugal's Benfica.

Rubin Kazan are currently sixth in the Russian Premier League and required extra-time on Thursday to defeat Spain's Levante 2-0 on aggregate in the last 16.

However they are likely to prove tough opponents for Chelsea after knocking out holders Atletico Madrid in the last 32 and emerging unbeaten from a tough group that included Inter Milan.

Rubin's game against Levante was played at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium - due to problems with their own pitch in the republic of Tatarstan - and they could also face the Blues at a venue where they lost the 2008 UEFA Champions League final to Manchester United.

Swiss champions Basel defeated Zenit St Petersburg 2-1 on aggregate to reach the last eight after hanging on to lose the second leg only 1-0 after the Russians missed a late penalty.

Basel failed to reach the Champions League group stage this season after losing to CFR Cluj in the play-off round.

Benfica, who are currently two points clear in the Primeira Liga, dropped into the Europa League after finishing third behind Barcelona and Celtic in Champions League Group G.

They beat Bordeaux 4-2 on aggregate in the last 16 after scoring two late goals to win the second leg 3-2.

"It's a great draw for us," said Newcastle manager Alan Pardew. "The Estadio da Luz is a great venue. I've been there and it's a fantastic stadium. Importantly, we are at home in the second leg and that will give us an advantage."

Benfica director Rui Costa said: "Newcastle deserve all our respect but we trust in ourselves. We will give it our best to go through."



Europa League draw:

Chelsea v Rubin Kazan

Tottenham v Basel

Fenerbahce v Lazio

Benfica v Newcastle



First-leg ties to be played on April 4, second-leg ties to be played on April 11.

Diaby doubtful for Spurs showdown

Arsene Wenger has revealed Abou Diaby is an injury doubt for Arsenal's derby clash with Tottenham on Sunday.



The midfielder has been struggling with a calf injury that saw him substituted in the 2-1 win over Aston Villa and he will be assessed ahead of the game at White Hart Lane.



Wenger also confirmed that Bacary Sagna and Kieran Gibbs will miss out as they continue to battle problems of their own.



Sagna has been troubled by a knee complaint that saw him replaced by Carl Jenkinson against Villa, while Gibbs is working his way back to fitness after a thigh injury.



"Abou is an uncertainty. He has a calf problem, a minor one. It is question of days," Wenger told the club's official website.



"He will have tests and then we will see if we can use him on Sunday or not. It is a 50:50. Actually, maybe a bit more for him playing.



"(Sagna) is not ready for Sunday. It is too short for him. Kieran is not back. That was as we expected."

Bale seeking Gunners revenge

Gareth Bale has been a shining light for Tottenham in recent weeks and the Welshman has warned Arsenal he is seeking revenge when the two sides meet at White Hart Lane on Sunday.



Spurs go into Sunday’s match with a four-point lead over their London rivals but revenge is on their mind after they were beaten 5-2 by the Gunners at the Emirates earlier in the season.



Tottenham took the lead in that match but the momentum swung in Arsenal’s favour when Emmanuel Adebayor was sent off after just 18 minutes.



The memory of that loss still hurts Bale and he is determined to do all he can to ensure there is not a repeat when Arsenal make the trip to White Hart Lane.



“It’s one we want to win. We started well last time and the sending-off was a problem. We want to rectify that score now and hopefully get the three points,” Bale declared.



“We go into the game full of confidence, looking for three points to boost our hopes of getting into the Champions League.



“It’s massive. We know how big it is – not just for us but for the fans.”



Bale has scored nine goals in his last seven outings for Tottenham with his strikes keeping Spurs firmly in the hunt for a Champions League spot.



Unsurprisingly, his superb form has led to speculation about his future with several European clubs linked with a summer move for the 23-year-old, while he has got used to being the target of opposition defenders.



“I’m starting to get used to that now. It inspires me to keep going. I’m obviously causing problems if they have to keep taking me down,” he added.

AVB expects battle for fourth

Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas is fully expecting the battle for a Champions League place to run until the end of the season.

Spurs currently hold fourth spot, just one point behind third-placed Chelsea, who lost to Manchester City on Sunday.

Tottenham travel to West Ham in Monday Night Football - also knowing they are one point ahead of local rivals Arsenal back in fifth.

"It is very tight still," he told.

"Everton and Liverpool are still strong teams challenging, and Liverpool has played most of the big teams, and they have to play us and Chelsea.

"Arsenal are still a threat and finish the season strongly - but our hope is to continue doing our job, our team is committed to this and we get great satisfaction from seeing our players strive towards these results."

Meanwhile, Villas-Boas has revealed he makes little use of complex analysis of data in football, describing the process as "useless."

Villas-Boas will test his mettle against Sam Allardyce, a manager who pioneered use of the Prozone system during his time at Bolton.

But Villas-Boas prefers to focus on the psychology of his players to achieve results rather than relying on facts and figures.

"I have never used Prozone. I don't use it because I don't believe (in it)," he said.

"You always have to be very, very careful with statistics. It doesn't mean that we negate them completely; we just don't use them to the extent that people might think.

"We have a scientific department that deals with that but we don't prepare our training or players based on the physical data we get from matches.

"The mind and how the player feels is much more important for us, rather than statistical data.



"For me it's useless, but it varies from coach to coach. We all have different approaches."


-->

Lloris aiming for top three

Hugo Lloris believes Tottenham have the ability to challenge for a place in the top three of the Premier League.



Spurs are currently fourth in the table, just a point behind Chelsea, although they trail runaway leaders Manchester United by 17 points with 12 games remaining.



But goalkeeper Lloris believes his side are closing in on the likes of United, Manchester City and Chelsea, although he is also wary of slipping up in the race for fourth place this season.



"Today, there's United, City and Chelsea who are a cut above, and who have more financial means. But Tottenham is just behind," said Lloris, who joined Spurs from Thursday's opponents Lyon last summer.



"The club has been trying to establish itself in the top four for some years now.



"For the minute, the season has been promising, but the hardest part is yet to come because there are still a number of key matches to be played and we'll have to be ready for that.



"For the moment, we're well-placed, though we're not beyond a possible charge by Arsenal."



Lloris had to be patient after initially making the move to England due to Andre Villas-Boas keeping faith with Brad Friedel.



Now established as the first-choice goalkeeper at Spurs, Lloris reckons the experience of challenging Friedel for the position has made him stronger.



"Things were very clear, that I was coming to Tottenham as the number one," he told RTL.



"But the manager made a decision at the start, and then made a different one a few weeks later. The negotiations over the move were with the chairman, but it was also the choice of the coach. I also had talks with him during that time.



"It's not easy, because I came in after the start of the season, and he was already under pressure because the results were not good at that point in time. It's the sort of situation which helps you grow, it's a personal challenge."